The WikiLeaks party's number two Victoria Senate candidate, Leslie Cannold, has resigned amid a storm over the party's preferences, which favoured rightwing extremists ahead of the Greens.

Cannold's decision came as Julian Assange's party declared it would issue a how-to-vote card to its supporters to override the lodged preferences.

The party also announced an independent review into the communications and decision-making process around preferences, though it has claimed it was an "administrative error".

Cannold said she discovered the review, promised immediately, would be delayed until after the election and would not be independent. She said it reflected problems with the "capacity of the party".

"This is the final straw," Cannold said.

"As long as I believed there was a chance that democracy, transparency and accountability could prevail in the party I was willing to stay on and fight for it.

"But where a party member makes a bid to subvert the party's own processes, asking others to join in a secret, alternative power centre that subverts the properly constituted one, nothing makes sense any more. This is an unacceptable mode of operation for any organisation but even more so for an organisation explicitly committed to democracy, transparency and accountability.

"Even if I stop campaigning this minute, remaining in my role implicitly invites voters to trust the WikiLeaks party. By staying in this role I am implicitly vouching for the worthiness of this party to receive the votes of the Australian people. I can no longer do this because I no longer believe it is true, and so I must resign."

Earlier in the day, WikiLeaks had promised a how-to-vote card but for for it to take effect, it would require WikiLeaks voters to number every box below the line.

WikiLeaks released part of an email on Wednesday to try to stem the damage of the preference storm, which broke at the weekend after the close of lodgement of party preferences with the Australian Electoral Commission.

WikiLeaks said it was in discussions with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) over the preferences. However, an AEC spokesman, Phil Diak, said the commission was bound by the deadline.

"The deadline for lodgement group voting tickets was Saturday midday, 17 August and that is a legislated deadline so AEC has published and lodged group voting tickets."

Diak said once the deadline passes, "the basis for the preferences are allocated".

The WikiLeaks party (WLP) email suggests in New South Wales the party placed the Greens above Family First, Shooters and Fishers and and Christian Right. In Western Australia, the email says: "WLP puts Greens first of major parties and above Christian Right and Shooters."

But the group voting ticket actually lodged had preferences going to parties including the rightwing nationalist Australia First and the Shooters and Fishers ahead of the Greens on its NSW Senate ticket.

In WA, WikiLeaks placed Senator Scott Ludlam, who has been a vocal supporter of Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, below the National party.

In the statement, Julian Assange said: "We are a new party, comprised of hard-working people donating their time, not career politicians. However this is no excuse. We can and will do better."

The statement added: "If necessary, the party will ... issue instructions to its members and supporters in the states concerned, on how to vote below the line.

"Due to the low vote of the parties concerned, the chance that the errors could have an effect on Senate make-up is remote, even without modification."

Ludlam said he had spoken at many forums with Christine Assange and appreciated her support. He said the independent review into the WikiLeaks preferences and the how-to-vote cards was "better than nothing", even though many found it onerous to fill out every box on the Senate paper.